UP ABOVE AND beyond the waving trees, the winds wailed as tiny droplets of the heavens fell against his flushed skin. Peter was breathing heavily and staring up at the murky clouds, his fists clenching and unclenching by his sides.

In the heat of the moment, Peter yelled out in frustration before shaking his head furiously and pushed himself off into a sprint. He shot his hand towards the trees and before he had even blinked away the onslaught of tears, he was swinging through the air.

His cheeks flushing through different shades of cherry red. The cold breeze smacking his cheeks as the salted tears seared against his skin.

Peter didn't know how long he had been outside for but he knew that when he left the Compound it was just before sunrise, a moment after Steve had left to seek out help from the most wanted woman of the Universe. A woman whose warrant for arrest had even reached the pitiful news stations on Earth, governments across the world were rebuilding with a hatred towards Leena at the core of their union.

Peter had no idea how word about her had spread to Earth, a place that was barely coming to terms with aliens, but he had a feeling it had something to do with the purple Titan that had ripped away Peter's family.

An anger filled his stomach, one which burned his eyes with tears, and flushed his cheeks with burning vengeance. Peter had never felt like this before. He's been angry but not like this. This was different.

Pinpointing his anger was fruitless. It was pointed towards everyone. At the moment, he was frustrated that Steve had barely listened to him when he asked to tagalong to find Leena. He dismissed him like he was a child and told him that it would be safer for him to stay at the Compound.

"More like stay somewhere where they can keep an eye on me," Peter grumbled under his breath as he hauled himself up onto the highest tree branch.

His glistening brown eyes glanced around the view that would usually take his breath away in awe but today it only served as a reminder of how detached from his life he really was. The Compound was a little bit to his left, the lake in front of him, and glancing south, where in the distance, and only a couple hours away, was his home, Queens. His heart clenched at the thought of his home.

He missed his home.

He missed his twin-sized bed.

He missed everything.

Peter's stomach gnawed with hunger as a heavy distraction from a trip down memory lane that would only rile him further. He dejectedly decided to head back.

He dropped down from the tree at the start of the forrest line, landing softly on his feet, and breathed in deeply before slowly releasing it. He glanced towards the building in the distance and his eyes narrowed. He had to go back.

Wiping his cheeks, Peter made his way back to the Compound, keeping his mind cleared of all thoughts until he stepped over the threshold and was greeted by the automatic voice of F.R.I.D.A.Y, the A.I system that Peter had started up after arriving back on Earth.

"Good afternoon Peter," F.R.I.D.A.Y stated.

Peter forced a small smile, "hey."

"You were out for a while," F.R.I.D.A.Y said while Peter walked towards the large kitchen filled with all of Tony's technical gimmicks. Peter glanced out the glass windows as the rain began to pour down. "You just missed getting caught in the storm."

Peter nodded his head absentmindedly as he opened the fridge and grabbed the half empty cartoon of orange juice, "great."

"I sense a tone of annoyance?"

"Nope."

"Okay."

Peter gulped down a glass of orange juice, "sorry F.R.I.D.A.Y, I'm just tired."

"I understand."

Peter stared at the empty glass in his hand, his eyebrows furrowing as the soft murmur of the dishwasher echoed in the background. He bit down on the inside of his cheek before glancing towards the glass windows, watching the raindrops race against each other.

"F.R.I.D.A.Y—"

"I haven't been in contact with Mr. Stark since he left Earth's orbit."

Peter nodded his head slowly. The back of his throat tightened slightly but he swallowed back the emotion that was creeping up on him and glanced up at the ceiling. "Okay."

The silence surrounded Peter as he kept his gaze on the rain outside, his brows pulled together in defeat and shoulders slumped.

"Peter?"

He glanced over his shoulder. Natasha Romanoff was walking towards him with a soft smile on her face as she cast her eyes on the young boy, her white hair falling around her, with her reddish roots slowly coming through, her eyes, usually bright, were stained dark with sleepless nights. She grabbed the cartoon of juice from beside him and filled up an empty glass of her own.

"Hi," Peter said quietly, retuning his blank stare outside.

Neither Peter nor Natasha said a word. Peter liked Natasha. Even though she had been blacklisted for not signing the Accords and she was on the opposing team to Peter. He still liked her.

She never questioned him whenever he left the Compound and came back with red eyes, but simply offers him a soft smile, and a calming presence that eased his rapidly beating heart. She refilled his glass with juice before placing the cartoon back in the refrigerator, Peter thanked her.

"I'm heading to the City," Natasha said with a glance at Peter.

Peter's brows furrowed, "oh, really?"

"Do you want to come?" Natasha asked, dropping her glass in the sink. She crossed her arms over her chest. "I could do with the company, I haven't been to the City since, well, since everything." Her voice deepened as she glanced down at the floor.

Peter swallowed, "oh, since uh, since the Accords?" He asked hesitantly, his mind being briefly flown back to two years ago. It felt like a lifetime ago. Their biggest problem were the Accords, not a giant purple maniac.

Natasha nodded her head, tucking her white hair behind her ear. "Something like that," she said shortly.

"Are you, uh — are you still, you know?"

"An enemy of the State?" Natasha asked, quirking her white eyebrow teasingly when she noticed a flushed look cross Peter's face. "The details are still being worked out by the Vice-President because the President and Secretary of State didn't survive the Snap."

Peter's heart clenched. Survive. Half the world didn't survive.

"I think the world has bigger issues than you not signing the Accords," Peter mumbled quietly. Natasha placed her hand on his shoulder and gave him a small squeeze in reassurance.

"Don't worry about it," Natasha said softly.

But Peter couldn't stop worrying about it. It just felt like one thing after another. Tony was gone. Aunt May — Aunt May was — he couldn't even think about it.

His family was gone.

And now the Government were taking their slow time in removing the enemy badge that stained the last few remaining Avenger's names when they had bigger problems to deal with.

Peter let out a breath he had been holding and dropped his glass down beside Natasha's, "I'll come with you to the City."

Natasha's face pulled up into a small smile but it didn't reach her eyes, it never reached her eyes anymore. "Great, we'll take a car as it's less noticeable than the Quinjet."

Peter nodded his head, attempting a smile. "Okay."

"I'll see you in a minute," Natasha said before leaving the kitchen.

Peter felt his heart lighten, a genuine smile tug at his lips. He was needed. Someone needed him.

___

As soon as Natasha and Peter were seated in the car, they began the long drive to the City. Peter fiddled with a hoodie he had chucked on after discarding his wet jacket from earlier.

"What do you have to do in the City?" Peter asked, with a sideways look to Natasha who appeared lost in her thoughts.

Her face blanked, and the usual smile replaced her thoughtful look. "I've been monitoring the situation since it all went to shit," Peter snorted, "and there's something I've been trying to sort out from here but I need to actually check on it in person."

Peter fiddled with his web-slingers on his wrists. "Oh, right."

He had no idea what Natasha was talking about and she didn't elaborate any further.

He tapped his foot against the ground, his knee bopping up and down while Natasha fiddled with the radio. The low hum of the radio filled the space between the young boy and the assassin, a space Peter usually would have filled with his incessant talking but he didn't have the energy for it, and thankfully, Natasha didn't force him to talk.

Soon enough they were driving into the City where the billboards blinked ferociously with the face that Peter knew all too well.

Leena's face was plastered across every single billboard in sight, a warning flashed underneath stating how dangerous she was. A cold hand gripped Peter's heart but he swallowed away the large shard of glass in his throat.

He wondered what was happening with the group that went to talk to her. A brief flash of annoyance stung inside of him. He wanted the pain and anger to dissipate but it continued to grow with each passing day.

He was in pain over losing his family. He was angry over losing his family. He could feel his fiery red emotions growing and growing with every day he was benched and told to stay at home while the "adults" dealt with the aftermath.

He could help. He wanted to help. He had to help. He felt like he was going to lose his mind if he continued to do nothing.

The car suddenly came to a halt in an empty parking lot which jolted Peter out of his thoughts. He glanced around the deserted area, a slight fog had settled over the City as the rain continued to pour down. Peter looked over at Natasha who unplugged her belt, and turned off the engine which cut the radio off. Both of them jumped out of the car. Peter pulled his hood up to cover his hair as the cold rain smacked his skin.

"Can you grab the other two bags for me?" Natasha asked as she reached down to grab two duffle bags from the trunk of the car.

Peter nodded his head, making his way to the trunk, and grabbed the other bags before they locked the car up. The two of them silently left the parking lot and walked a couple blocks before coming up to the back of a building where Natasha knocked three times. Peter glanced around the empty street. The City was usually bustling with life and now it was abandoned. It left an uneasy feeling in his stomach. He turned towards the door when it creaked open.

An elderly woman was peaking her greying head out and narrowed her eyes at Natasha. "You!" The woman hissed in annoyance, Peter recognised a distinct British accent. The annoyed woman opened the door wider.

Natasha rolled her eyes but said nothing. She looked behind at Peter, inclining her head inside, and the two of them stepped over the threshold. Peter felt tingles run up his arms as sudden shouts filled his ears, shouts of joy.

A young girl ran up to the elderly woman, Peter noticed the woman was leaning on a walking stick. She was giggling away as another girl chased her with a Nerf gun only to accidentally shooting the elderly woman.

Both girls froze.

Peter's eyes widened. He thought he heard a small snort leave Natasha.

"You little twits, I'll tell ye what!" The elderly woman grumbled as she waved her cane, muttering under her breath as she limped towards the girls, flicking their foreheads before walking away. The girls resumed their giggling and continued firing the nerf bullets at each other.

"Where are we?" Peter asked quietly as they followed the woman.

Natasha shot him a solemn look as they rounded the corner into what looked like a large dining room but it was filled with children running around. A few tables had been set up against the far right while bunk beds were built towards the left. Peter felt his heart drop into his stomach. He froze in the doorway. He felt sick when he realised exactly where he was and he wanted to do nothing but scream at the sky.

The orphans of the Snap.

That's what the news stations had branded them. They're the unfortunate children that had lost their parents when half the world ascended into chaos.

"Jesus," Peter whispered, his eyes widening when he noticed a few babies.

"The Governor hasn't looked twice at them," Natasha bit back, shaking her head as a fury burned in her eyes when she glanced over the children, seemingly happy even though their eyes were dark. "Just left them out in the cold."

"What?" Peter asked incredulously, his mouth opening in shock and eyes widening. "They're children! What the hell—"

"Watch your mouth lad before I rinse it out with soap!" The elderly woman hissed, flicking Peter on the forehead, he winced even though he barely felt it, the poor woman had to step on her tiptoes to even reach his head.

He definitely heard a snort leave Natasha that time around.

"It's nice to finally see you in person, Snowy," she said, her eyes glancing over the bags that they had brought. "What did you bring?" She asked, stabbing the bags they held with her cane.

Natasha dropped hers onto a table and Peter followed suit. He could barely tear his eyes away from the children. He couldn't shake the uneasy feeling in his stomach.

"I wanted to check in, sorry I couldn't come sooner," Natasha said softly, "just a few more blankets and clothes." She unzipped the bags.

The elderly woman peaked her nose inside and huffed, "it'll do, I suppose."

"I'm sure," Natasha threw Peter a teasing look but he was completely lost in his own thoughts. Natasha cleared her throat, "how many more have you taken in?"

"A couple teens made their way here a week ago," the woman pointed her cane at the two teens sat listening to music. "We're expecting more to turn up in the coming weeks."

Natasha nodded her head, her face hard. "Word would be reaching out, you've only been here a few weeks."

"Ay," the woman said, her eyes dimming, "who's the pale lad? Is he a new one?" She poked Peter in the chest with her walking stick.

Peter jumped, "oh, hi. I'm Peter." He offered a small smile.

"He's with me," Natasha said, throwing a look at Peter who avoided her gaze.

He technically was an orphan of the Snap. He should be here.

"Florence," she replied. She threw a glance over to a couple men and women behind her, gesturing her head, and they walked over to them. "Let's start handing these out."

Natasha went to help but Florence smacked her hands, "not you! We need to talk." She grabbed Natasha's forearm and began walking away, leaving Peter behind, "you stay here!" Florence shouted back at Peter.

Peter nodded his head, clearing his throat, he looked around the room once again.

"Hi," a soft voice broke his trailing thoughts. Peter turned towards the tall woman with thick black and grey curly hair and a kind smile on her ageing face. "You can help me take these to the other clothes over there, next to where the two girls are playing with the nerf guns."

Peter grabbed a pile of clothes and stacked it on top of another pile, the woman raised an eyebrow. "I'm good at balancing things," Peter responded with a quick smile, picking up the piles.

"I'm just worried you won't be able to see," she laughed. "I'm Caterina by the way."

Peter couldn't see Caterina because of the clothes stacked up in front of his face but he still smiled nonetheless, "I'll be able to see, don't worry. Nice to meet you! I'm Peter."

They both walked towards the clothing set-up, and whenever he felt a tingle in his arms he would stop just as the children run out in front of him. Caterina was looking at him sceptically because he never glanced around the clothing to even see where he was going. Once they reached the clothing set-up, he dropped the clothes down without any problems and piled them neatly with the others.

"You have pretty good senses," Caterina said with a glance towards him, "I wish I had that. I'm a big klutz."

Peter breathed out a small laugh, "oh yeah, my Aunt—" He paused. Peter cleared his throat. "Uhm, it's a pretty neat trick I have," Peter said quietly.

Caterina stared at him with downcast eyes but he focused entirely on the clothes. "I'm sorry."

Peter tensed. He looked at her and then looked around at the other children. They ranged from babies to teenagers. Despite the smiles on a few of their faces, most had red puffy eyes and were sat alone with their knees pulled up to their chests.

Peter felt his back tingle. His chest suddenly clenched painfully when he cast his eyes over a familiar ginger haired teenager with a cluster of spots on his cheeks.

They shared a Chemistry class together every Tuesday afternoon.

Peter felt like he was going to throw up.

"Is there, uh, is there a toilet around here?" Peter found himself asking, he couldn't tear his eyes away from Alex. They shared a Chemistry class together. He faintly heard Caterina give him directions as he stood up, his head suddenly going light-headed so he quickly left the room.

Peter found himself standing outside in the rain. His chest tightening with every second. He couldn't breathe. Oh god. He couldn't breathe.

He could barely force the air into his collapsing chest. It was painful to breathe. His mind kept flashing between Chemistry class and Tony and Aunt May. He couldn't breathe.

Peter was clenching his hands. His fingernails digging into his sweaty palms. He felt bile rise up in his throat. He couldn't save them. He didn't save them. They lost. He couldn't breathe.

He could faintly hear someone calling out his name. He tried to open his eyes but he couldn't get out of his own head. He could only see Tony disappearing. He could only see Ned's broken face when Ned told him that his mum had disappeared.

"Peter!"

Peter choked out a sob. His body faltering against the ground as he let the tears fall. He couldn't do it anymore. He couldn't hold it in. He couldn't hide it. He was in pain. He was in so much pain that it consumed him.

"Peter!"

He felt his heart start to slow down. He forced his eyes open and ferociously wiped away the tears that mixed with the rain on his cheeks. He choked down the tightness in his throat and finally noticed Natasha sitting down beside him, holding his shoulder, her eyes swimming with concern.

"Hey kid," Natasha said softly, tucking her damp white hair behind her ear. "It's okay."

Peter shook his head. His eyes widening. "No! No! None of this is okay!" He forced himself to stand up, ignoring the fact that his legs felt like they would crumble again. Natasha stared up at him, standing up too. "This!" He gestured his hands towards the building they had been in only moments ago. "This is not okay!"

"Peter —"

"I am so sick and tired of people saying it will be okay, and we will figure it out! What if we don't? What if we have actually lost this time?" Peter shouted, his eyes wild and hair sticking to his flushed face. "I knew a guy in there! He's in my Chemistry class and now he's living here! His parents are gone because of us! We failed, and we're not suppose to fail."

Natasha sucked in a breath, clicking her tongue and crossing her arms over her chest. "But we do fail, Peter. We're human. We have to fail to learn."

"On this big of a scale?" Peter asked incredulously, "half the world — half the Universe is gone!"

"It was a big fail," Natasha retorted, "a big, Universe-wide, fail. We failed. And yes it hurts. And yes it feels like the whole world is ending, but Peter, there is one thing we don't do, we don't give up. We don't just sit down and decide it's over. It's not over."

"But what if it is Nat?" Peter shook his head, his hands shaking. "What if we can't get them back?"

"We have to try Peter, we have to." Natasha's eyes suddenly watered. She didn't hold back the emotion that thickened her words. "We can't give up on them."

Peter downcast his eyes, dragging his feet against the ground. "I miss them, I miss them so much and I can't breathe. I just, ah! I just feel angry all the time and I don't know what to do."

"Me too," Natasha admitted, she shrugged her shoulders when Peter looked up at her. "I am so incredibly angry. Angry at the world, at Thanos," her eyes narrowed, "and hell, I'm even pissed off at Steve."

"Me too!" Peter shouted, shaking his hands, "I could have spoken to Leena! I met her! Why is he so, ugh, just so—"

"Annoyingly noble?"

"Yes!"

The assassin and spider-boy glanced at each other only to start laughing. They shook their heads which dissipated the frustration that surrounded them. Their laughs only lasted for a few moments, but for a few moments, they were at peace.

Natasha wiped away at the rain on her cheeks, "let's go home."

Peter nodded his head slowly. He glanced back at the door of the Orphanage.

"We'll save them, right? We'll bring everyone back?"

Natasha shared a fleeting look of determination with Peter.

"Whatever it takes."

_____
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hii! so this one is a long one, and there's no leena in this chapter but it's all about our lil peter parker and nat which i really enjoyed writing.

can i just say a massive thank you to anyone who has added this book to their reading lists, voted and commented, it means so much whenever i get a notification! thank you! also we're nearly at 10K reads?? that's crazy!

i hope you guys liked this chapter! let me know your thoughts! i love to read them!